Declaration of Principles

1.  Contact the prosecuting police inspector and make an appointment with him in order that he issues a visiting permit for you.
   When you go and meet him make sure you take your personal identity card with you.
2. Take the permit, and go with it to the law courts for the Magistrate to sign it. You must go to the office where this is taken care of. This is on the middle floor (near the toilets). Go there and present them the inspector’s permit. They will take care of the rest while you wait.
3. When all is done, present yourself at the Paola prisons at the “Debituri” (Debtors’) complex.
   At the court office you shall be given a slip of paper with the visiting hours.
   • If the inmate was sent to the main part of the prisons (male or female), click here.
   • If the inmate was sent to the Juvenile Section, click here.

He must be at some police district office. Most probably he is still within the district from where he was arrested. The following are the ten district offices that the police have. Phone to where you think your son is kept.

If you think that your son was arrested at Paceville, try contacting the following police station:

If your son was arrested in connection with drugs expect the police to come to your home to make a search. The police won’t tell you the reason of the search. MAKE SURE that they have a search warrant, and that you take their names or their police numbers. They are obliged to give them to you if you ask.

If you have any difficulty whatsoever, phone the Police General Headquarters, and ask for the crime or vice squad offices:

Whenever you contact a police station identify yourself, give them your son’s name and surname, and VERY VERY KINDLY ask whether he is being held there. In case he is, thank the officer, hang down the phone, and go there immediately. Enquire further on the spot.

Calmly and prudently sit around a table with your son, and explain to him the consequences his acts might have. Try to discuss not talk him down. Show him you understand. Show him that you care because you love him. Explain to him that if caught:

• Some police officers may take the incident very seriously
• Some police officers are not bound to distinguish between innocent juvenile delinquency and crime
• Some police inspector may even decide to prosecute
• A report will be filed, and his name shall go down on the police computing system in case further incedents will be reported in the future
• He cannot depend on his friends; these, in order to free themselves of any responsibily, shall surely give him all the blame

Take the opportunity to explain to him some facts. Do not dismiss the incident lightly. The best thing to do is to sit around a table with your son, and calmly and prudently explain to him what to do in case he is arrested. Try to discuss not talk him down. Show him you understand. Show him that you care because you love him. Explain to him that if arrested:

• He should be very prudent with the police inspectors
• He must not try to play the tough guy, but should keep a subdued spirit
• He must never think that he can outmaneuver the police; this is a veritable trap that always ends up with the arrested guy incriminating himself
• He must not try to be sly with the police; the police have seen it all, and can get along very well with small naive fray like him
• Most important, he must not admit to anything
• Also important, he must not believe anything he is told; these are tricks of the trade investigating inspectors use all the time
• He must not fall to the charms of a “compassionate” or “kind-hearted” police inspector; the police always use this tactic after an arrested guy will have been roughed up real hard (making him crave for some little kindheartedness)
• If possible, he should not sign any written document

First and foremost, you have to make a permit to be able to visit him. This is number one priority. Click here to see what you have to do.

Click here to see our “Legal Aid” section.

Contact us immediately. We can offer you friendship and support. Do not try to tackle the situation by yourself. Click here.

Do not panic. Your son may be only in a phase of experimentation, and probably needs you to support and care for him more than ever. So do just that.

If you are to ask your son to have a chat about the matter he shall probably react by being angered for your rummaging with his personal belongings and poking into his drawers. So be prepared for this.

It is important that, whatever you do, DON’T try to screem your son down, threaten him with throwing him out of the house, or declare that whoever lives in your house has to abide by your rules. Such things will only irritate him, and get you nowhere. Your actions will surely be counter-productive to your good intentions.

The best way to tackle this situation is to speak with your son with many endearing words. Tell him that you care and that you love him very much. Do not preach to him. Delicately enquire how far he had gone into doing drugs. If need be, suggest professional help.

It is essential that you give your son plenty of time to speak with you. Let him express his frustrations. Allow his anger to come out in the open. Admit that you’re NOT the perfect mother or father. Ask him to suggest how YOU can improve your parental skills.

A teenage daughter is generally passing through a phase of parading her womanhood. She is out to demonstrate that she is not a little girl anymore. So do not treat her as if she still is a little girt. Relate to her as you would with any other woman. Your daughter’s mixing up with rough company is a sure sign that she is definitely past her infantile period. She’s starting to experiment and test the adult world, even if maybe in the wrong way.

Do not attack the problem of your daughter’s bad company head on. This will only strengthen her rebellousness, and add to your frustration. Go about it in a round-about way.

For instance, do not be a mother or father anymore to her. Instead, be a friend. Share some of your problems with her. Tell her about some of your personal feelings. Ask her opinion for matters usually reserved for adults. Give her responsibility.

In this way, your daughter shall find in your company that personal satisfaction that she is looking for from the company of friends that she keeps.

Ex-prisoners are not monsters. They may have had a rough past, but that does’nt necessarily make them bad or evil. So do not jump to conclusions hastily. Take your time to become acqainted with the man, and judge him on his own merits. The past is not always a faithful mirror of the future.

Having been in prison does’nt necessarily indicate that a person is dangerous or treacherous. Most troublesome neighbours have never been to prison. So give your new neighbour time to prove himself or herself. Judge him or her on the present, and not on the past.

Your husband must not exclude the person just because of being ex-prisoner. This is very unfair and unjust. Having been in prison does not necessarily make a person untrustworthy or incompetent. He shoudl give the person a fair chance, just as he would have done with any other person.

If your husband does employ the ex-prisoner, he must be on the look-out for certain tricks other employees will try to play. Some employee, for instance, knowing that the new intake is an ex-prisoner, may try to abuse his or her vulnerability created by his criminal record. The employee may be encouraged to steal more easily, for example, knowing that the ex-prisoner is likely to take the blame.

As an employer, your husband must treat his new ex-prisoner employee with special care, keeping in mind his vulnerability and his fear of disappointing.

The robbery is probably creating some negative psychological effects on you and/or on other members of your family; effects that seem devastating enough. Some will tell you that time eventually heals the wounds, but it is best to try to find some professional assistance. The best thing to do is contact us and we shall be able to guide you further.

That depends whether the inmate is sentenced or still on remand (just arrested; waiting to be sentenced):

• If the inmate is sentenced you only need the permission of the prison authorities, and acceptance from the inmate concerned. Once these are settled, you will be given the day and time of the visit. So, the first thing to do is to phone the prisons concerned (see below), tell the operator what you desire, and he’ll pass you on to an officer in charge. Visits are held at the “Debituri” (Debtors’) complex. Click here to see where this is on the map — marked no.3.

All you need to do is to simply take the money to the “Debituri” (Debtors’) complex at the Paola prisons. Click here to see where this is on the map — marked no.3. Do not forget to take with you your personal identity card, otherwise no money can be left. You will be given a receipt for the amount you leave there. The prisoner will be given a copy of the receipt with your name on it. Deposits cannot exceed Lm20.

If the prisoner is already sentenced, simply take the items of the “Debituri” (Debtors’) complex at the Paolo prisons, and leave them with the officers there. Click here to see where this is on the map — marked no.3. Do not forget to take with you your personal identity card, otherwise no items may be left.

If the prisoner is still on remand (just arrested), you cannot take items without a permit, and permits are usually issued for having visits with the inmate. It is really not worth it to have a permit made simply to take some item or other to the prisoner. Anyway, if you must insist, than follow the procedure explained above. Click here to see.

Simply write the letter and post it to this address:

You must know that all letters, going in or out of the prisons, are read and censured. So do not write things you do not want others to read.